


something that'll haunt me when you're not around

by HeartonFire



Category: Daredevil (TV), The Punisher (TV 2017)
Genre: Almost Kiss, Angst, Canon Compliant, F/M, Feelings, First Time, Fluff, Introspection, Love Confessions, Reunited and It Feels So Good, Romance, Season 2 compliant, Smut, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-20
Updated: 2019-01-27
Packaged: 2019-10-13 13:11:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17488643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeartonFire/pseuds/HeartonFire
Summary: Karen and Frank reflect on their feelings after leaving the hospital and figure out where to go from here.





	1. Separation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have so many feelings about the Kastle episode of season 2, and this is the first of what may be many fics about those feelings. Enjoy.

“Can we continue this heart-to-heart once we’re out of here?”

The words echoed in Karen’s head for hours afterward. After she left the hospital, barefoot and cold. After she saw the news of the ambulance crash and Frank’s escape. After her tears had run dry.

There were never any guarantees. Every time she saw Frank could very well be the last. She knew that. She left anyway. She had to. The kid was right.

And she was glad, in a way, that he had a teammate now. A sidekick of sorts. Even if she was a little reckless, a little wild. Frank had said she needed him to survive. There were people after both of them, trained killers hunting them. Bounties on their heads.

She shivered, despite the blanket she was wrapped in. She hadn’t told them, Matt and Foggy, where she had been. They wouldn’t understand.

They didn’t have to. There had been something final about this time. She had laid it all out there for him, told him how she felt, and he told her no.

Fresh tears came to her eyes at the memory. The look on his face when he said he didn’t want to find someone new to love. That he didn’t want her.

She shook her head and shuffled over to the fridge to grab a beer. After the day she’d had, she needed a drink. She wasn’t going to apologize for that.

She couldn’t stop seeing Frank there, in front of her, close enough for her to put one hand on his chest. Close enough she was sure he was going to kiss her. Finally close that space between them. Finally finish what they had started. Give her something to remember him by. Make it mean something. He said he didn’t want her, but then he looked at her like that. Looked at her like there was nothing else he wanted so much.

But then that kid came in and there was no time. They never had time.

It wasn’t fair. She had so much she wanted to tell him. So much she needed him to know. Maybe, if he did, he wouldn’t push her away. Wouldn’t be so sure she was too good for him. Maybe then he’d know that she had her own demons. She could handle his.

She wanted him so badly it hurt. She hadn’t even thought about it, going down to the hospital. Talking her way around the cop at the door. Frank was hurt, and she needed to be there when he woke up. The déjà vu was almost unbearable, seeing him shackled to a hospital bed. At least they hadn’t put up tape to keep her away this time. They weren’t going to keep her away from him.

But he was. He wanted her to go. He wanted her to believe he was a monster. Give up on him. He knew it wouldn’t work, but he tried anyway. It hurt to think about how hard he had tried.

“No.” Karen whispered the word to herself, like saying it into the air would make it true. “No. He wants to protect me.” She hadn’t been wrong about this. Them. She knew that, way deep down. Deep in those places she didn’t like to look at too often. Deep in that part of her that was who she really was.

Frank was always trying to protect her. It was his way. He pushed her away _because_ he cared about her.

It didn’t make it hurt any less.

She didn’t regret it. Any of it. She couldn’t. She hoped he didn’t.

She might never know. Might never see him again.

No. She would. Maybe not now. Maybe not for a while.

But she would see Frank Castle again.

* * *

Frank felt hollow. Empty. He couldn’t even feel the injuries, even though he knew they were bad. All he could see were those blue eyes. Karen’s eyes. Hurt. Sad. Filling with tears. Tears he put there.

He had told her to leave. He had to keep her safe. She knew that. He couldn’t let her throw everything away. Not for him. He wasn’t worth that. Even if he didn’t kill those women, all the other things he had done were enough, no matter what she said.

When he had woken up, to find her there, sitting beside his bed, looking like an angel, he thought he was still dreaming. Wouldn’t be the first time.

But no, she was there. She was there, holding his hand and crying with him through his deepest wounds. He could still feel the ghost of her touch on his skin. She knew him. She always did.

And he knew her. He knew mentioning Murdock was a low blow, but he didn’t care. He had to get her away from him. Had to get her to see that he was no good for her. He wasn’t worth risking her life over. Get it to stick this time. Even if it broke his heart to do it.

But she wouldn’t go. It took everything he had to keep telling her, and when she finally gave in and tried to do what he said he wanted, he couldn’t even let her do it. He couldn’t let her disappear without telling her. Without making her see. She had to see how he felt about her. How much he cared.

And Karen saw. He knew she did, when he was scrambling to stop her from leaving, legs tangling in the blankets even as his heart pounded half out of his chest. He knew it when he was standing close enough to her to touch. He saw it in those eyes of hers. She knew. She understood. It still hurt her.

He could have kissed her, then. He wanted to. Every fiber of his being ached to touch her, hold her, press his mouth to hers. Her hand was burning a hole through his hospital gown, where it touched his chest.

But he didn’t have time. They didn’t have time. They never did. As much as he hated to admit it, the kid was right. They were never going to let him kiss her. She was never going to be his. He couldn’t ask her to be. Maybe in another life, but not in this one. Not with who he was. She might say it didn’t matter. She might say it didn’t change anything. But it did. It had to. He couldn’t drag her back into this. He wouldn’t.

He felt her eyes on him while he pulled on the cop’s uniform. He winced at the scrape of his broken ribs, but she didn’t touch him again.

He watched her go, wondered at her bare feet, but there was no time to ask. He had to go, had to let Madani help him down the stairs.

The rest of it was a blur.

What he could see, what he could remember, was all her. It always was. It was always Karen. It always would be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! This was kind of an experiment, to do an angsty story with no fluff or smut at the end to balance it out, so I'd love to know what you guys think. Kudos and comments are always so appreciated, and genuinely would make my day. :)


	2. Reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't stop thinking about this fic, and I needed to write a reunion for Frank and Karen that satisfied the smutty, fluffy side of my shipper heart. Enjoy! ;)

Frank had a focus. Something driving him. There was so much crime in the city, and he had to do what he could to stamp it out. He had a new war now, and it gave him purpose. It gave him something to concentrate on.

It did nothing to stop the dreams. Or the nightmares. The flashes of blonde hair. The glimmer of teary blue eyes. A kiss before the crack of a gunshot. Pale skin splattered with blood. Karen Page, just out of reach, bullets flying toward her. Karen Page, blown up in an explosion he got to a second too late. Karen Page, dead a thousand different ways.

He was right, to leave her alone. She deserved a life. A real one, not the shadowy, half-life she’d have with him. She might think she wanted that, but he couldn’t ask that of her. He wouldn’t.

And if he stopped by her block every week or so, it was just to check in. Make sure she was safe. She was still working too much, but that was just who she was. No stopping her when she got something in her head. As long as she made it home, it didn’t matter how late she was out.

It became part of his routine. Go out at night, kill bad guys, sleep during the day, stop by Karen’s on Wednesdays before heading out for his next hit. Rinse and repeat.

Weeks went by, then months. The system worked, well enough. The glimpses of her he saw were enough to convince him she was alright, but they did nothing to ease the gnawing hunger he felt to talk to her. To touch her. He couldn’t keep this up forever. He was going to break.

He didn’t. Not really.

She did.

It was later than usual, when he got to her street. He had spotted some guy grabbing a girl and dragging her towards an alley. He couldn’t just let that slide. He wasn’t even wearing the vest. It was just something he had to do.

By the time he made it to his usual spot across from her building, Karen was already there, leaning against the wall. She was huddled in her long coat, staring down at the filthy ground.

“Thought maybe you forgot about me,” she said softly, eyes lifting to his and Frank froze. He hadn’t seen her up close in months. He had forgotten what it was like, to be around her, to have those blue eyes piercing through him.

“You knew?” Her eyebrows rose. Of course she knew. Karen Page always knew. “Why didn’t you say something? Reach out?”

“Why didn’t you?” she shot back.

Frank sighed. She was right. She always was. “I just wanted to make sure you were alright.” It sounded weak, even to his own ears. It was the truth.

She looked at him for a long moment, something that looked almost like resignation in her eyes. “Come in, Frank. We need to talk.”

He could feel his heart pounding as they climbed the stairs to her apartment. Karen wouldn’t look at him.

She shrugged out of her coat and locked the door behind them. Frank tried not to stare too long. Looking at her was like staring into the sun. Pale skin disappearing into a silky blouse, pencil skirt hugging the curve of her hips, blonde hair curled and messy around her shoulders. She was an angel. Not the fluffy wings and halo type. The fire and awe type. The kind that made people quake with fear. He was quaking now.

She stepped out of her heels, feet bare against the wood floor. He remembered that day in the hospital like it was yesterday. He had never asked why she was barefoot then. It didn’t matter now.

“Frank.” All it took was his name on her lips and he was a goner. He couldn’t read her at all, if she was going to hug him or hit him. Either one would shatter him.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled.

Karen shook her head. “Drink?” He shrugged. “I could use one.”

Frank followed her into the kitchen. He took the beer she offered, even as he watched her every move. She leaned against the counter and took a long drink, closing her eyes as she swallowed. Frank’s eyes traced the column of her throat, the movement. He had to leave. He couldn’t be here. This was what he was trying to avoid. She wasn’t meant for him. She couldn’t be.

“Why are you here, Frank?”

He stepped back, into the doorway. He had to put space between them. She was too close. He could smell her perfume. He wanted to bury his face in her hair, hold her to him. This wasn’t safe.

“I just had to know you were safe.” It was the truth. She had to know that.

“But you sent me away. You told me to leave. You told me not to go with you.”

“I know.”

“So, why check on me? You know I can take care of myself. You told me to.”

“Karen.”

“What, Frank?” Her face was pink now, turning towards red. “You told me you didn’t want me. You didn’t want this.” She gestured between them.

“Karen.” It was all he could say. Her name. An apology. A prayer.

“No. No. You don’t get to keep disappearing and then show up when you feel like it and rip everything apart.” She set her bottle down and was in front of him before he knew what was happening. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t kick you out right now.”

His heart stopped. Her eyes were full of fury and he knew he deserved it. “I can’t.” He swallowed thickly, around the lump in his throat. “You should. You should kick me out and tell me to stay gone.”

Karen’s hand came up to cover her mouth. She was breathing hard, but the flush was fading from her cheeks. “What?”

“Just say it, and I’m gone. I won’t come back. I mean it.”

Her eyes were wide. Glassy. Her fingers trembled a little. He wanted her to do it. She should. He shouldn’t be here. She should cut him out of her life, once and for all. It was what he deserved.

“Throw me out. Just do it, Karen. Please. Just do it.”

* * *

Tears sprang to Karen’s eyes and all the rage that had bubbled up in her as soon as Frank tried to apologize for what had happened between them vanished at the look on his face.

He expected her to do it. He expected her to kick him out. Send him away. Never speak to him again. After all they had been through, he still thought she could do that. Even after she told him how she felt, he couldn’t believe it. It was like they were back in that dark forest and he was telling her he was already dead. He believed she could leave him behind. Move on from this.

“Karen.” His voice cracked and Karen’s heart broke. Again.

She didn’t think. She couldn’t speak. She had to show him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him to her.

Finally, finally, finally, they were here. His lips were warm, and softer than she expected. He was startled, frozen, until he wasn’t. He returned the kiss, mouth moving against hers and drawing a low groan from deep in her chest.

But it didn’t last long. He nudged her back, stepped away, eyes wide. His hands were shaking as he held them up to her. He had never looked so scared. Not even when she was pointing a gun at him. Not even when the whole NYPD was hunting for him. Not even when there was a bomber hell-bent on blowing them all to hell. Never. She had never seen him like this.

“Wait. Just, just wait.” His voice was soft, gentle. She knew he was trying to keep her calm.

Karen’s heart sank into her stomach. How could she have been so wrong about this? “I’m sorry, Frank.” She turned away from him. She couldn’t look at him, see the pity in those deep eyes. See him try to find the words to reject her. Again. She choked on a sob.

“Wait. Karen.”

She shook her head. “You should go.”

She heard him let out a long breath. “No.”

Karen whirled to face him, hair swirling around her shoulders, pain pouring out in fury. “You said you would go. If I told you to.”

“No.” He moved into her space. She could feel him breathing. She had never been afraid of Frank. He had never held her heart in his hands like this before. Kissing him had broken something between them, something she hadn’t realized had been holding them together.

“Please, Frank.” She didn’t know if she was asking him to leave or asking him to stay. She didn’t know which one would hurt more.

“Karen.” His hands came up to cradle her face. “Karen.” Her eyes fluttered closed and she couldn’t breathe. “I just have to be sure.”

She opened her eyes. “Sure about what?” Her voice was hardly above a whisper.

“Sure that you know what you’re getting into.”

“I know.”

“I can’t stop now. There’s too much bad in this world, Karen. I can’t just let it be.”

“I know.”

He tilted his head, studying her face, like he still didn’t quite believe her. “And you still want to do this?”

“Yes.” She had never been so sure of anything in her life. “Do you?” The words came out shaky, unsure. He had turned her down before. He could do it again.

He smiled at that. “If we do this, that’s it. You’re it for me. I’m not going to leave unless you send me away. I can’t.”

Karen nodded. “You’re it for me, too, Frank. Thought I told you that.”

He didn’t hesitate, just pulled her face to his and kissed her again, tongue pushing past her lips to trace the lines of her mouth. Karen’s hands wrapped around his back, fisting in his shirt. She couldn’t let go of him. Not now.

His fingers tangled into her hair and he pressed against her, caging her against the counter. It dug into her lower back, but she didn’t care. It didn’t matter. She had Frank. He was hers. She was his. This was it.

He lifted her onto the counter and she wrapped her legs around him. She could feel him, hot and hard and wanting, even as his kisses became more desperate, sloppy. He kissed along her jaw, down her neck, behind her ear, and Karen’s whole body sparked with need. She dug her fingernails into the back of his head, scraping down his neck until he hissed at the sensation. She tugged at his coat, pulling it from his shoulders and leaving it in a heap on the floor.

Frank lifted her, arms under her thighs, and carried her to her bedroom, lips finding new spaces to rest with every step.

He set her down on the edge of the mattress, pulling his shirt off over his head. Karen saw the scars and scrapes of all his battles, and wanted to press kisses to each one. She knew she couldn’t heal them, she couldn’t put him back together, but she had to try. She would do what she could.

She slid to her knees in front of him and looked up at her hands found his belt. He was breathing hard, chest heaving.

“You don’t have to,” he muttered.

Karen shook her head. “Please, Frank. I want to.”

He stared down at her, one hand trailing through her hair so gently, it almost made her cry. He nodded, and Karen fumbled with his fly until she was able to get it open. He stepped out of his clothes and stood in front of her. She might have been dreaming. She had certainly dreamed about this before. Frank deserved to feel good for once. To be touched like he meant something. He meant everything.

His hand stayed in her hair as she touched the tip of her tongue to the head of his cock. He tensed, fingers twitching. Karen closed her mouth around him and slid down, squeezing her fist at the base. She couldn’t take his full length, but from the grunts and moans spilling out of his mouth, Frank didn’t mind. She pumped her hand and her mouth together, the sloppy sounds of her lips against his skin making her clench her thighs together. She wanted him so badly. She swirled her tongue around the head again and Frank’s hand clutched at her hair.

“Not going to last long if you keep that up,” he said, in a low growl. “Come here.”

She stood, wrapping herself around him as his mouth met hers again. He pushed her back onto the bed, pulling her blouse out of her skirt and nearly breaking all the buttons in his haste to get it off her.

Karen wasn’t wearing any fancy lingerie or anything, just a nude cotton bra, but Frank’s eyes darkened as soon as he saw her, and he flew into a frenzy, kissing every inch of skin he could see, tracing the edge of her bra with his tongue.

“So beautiful,” he mumbled, pulling down the cup of the bra to get at her nipple. His teeth sank down and Karen arched into him. “Too hard?” God, the sight of him, looking up at her with those intense, brown eyes, his face against her breast. She shook her head. He couldn’t hurt her. She wanted all of him. She wouldn’t break.

Frank grinned against her. His hands found the zipper on her skirt and slid it down, even as he kept kissing and biting and licking at her nipple. She was overwhelmed at the sensations of his hands, his mouth, his teeth, his everything. Every nerve in her body was on fire. It was more than she had ever dreamed. It was better. He was better. They were better.

* * *

Frank was so hard it hurt, but this wasn’t about him. It was about Karen. Her pleasure. Her needs. He was going to make damn sure she enjoyed herself, even if it meant delaying his own release. She was worth it. She was worth everything.

He had almost ruined everything, when she kissed him. He was so afraid that she was jumping into something. That she didn’t fully understand what his life was now. But this was Karen. She knew him. She knew who he was. What he was. She wanted him anyway.

And oh, how he wanted her. She squirmed under him as his tongue circled her nipple. He felt the cotton of her panties under his palms and lifted his head to look at her. See her. All of her.

His hands trembled as he pushed her panties down her legs, and Karen sat up to unclasp her bra. They were here. They were together. This was it.

Frank sank down to his knees now, kissing her knee, her thigh, her hip. He needed her to be ready. He needed her to be sure. He needed her to want him as badly as he wanted her.

She was wet already. He could see it. He could smell it. He breathed her in, mouth ghosting over her skin until goosebumps rose on her legs. He could stay here forever, if she let him.

“Frank,” she moaned, hand falling to his head. He looked up at her. Her eyes were half-closed, lips pink and plump. She bucked her hips a little, searching for friction, but Frank just smiled.

“Slow down, Karen. We’ve got all night.”

She shivered and settled back onto the mattress, eyes bright as she watched him. He dragged his tongue over her folds and she groaned, hands clutching at the comforter desperately. He grinned. He hadn’t even started yet.

He spread her open with two fingers and circled her clit with his tongue, lapping at it until he found the spot that made her tense under him. He focused on that spot, sliding one finger inside her with his other hand. He bent his finger and found what he was looking for. Karen was writhing above him, body shaking with the effort of holding herself together. Her eyes were clenched shut, and she was biting her lip to hold back the cries that were leaking out between her teeth.

“Let go, baby. Let go for me.”

Her eyes opened and met his. He twisted another finger inside her while he licked at her clit and she broke, shuddering through her climax, walls clenching around his fingers. She was breathing hard, hair all over the bed.

Frank stood, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, and climbed up, leaning over her. Karen wound her arms around him and pulled him down to kiss her again. He could kiss her all night. Every night. They could do this now.

“Frank, please. I want to feel you.”  When he hesitated, still unsure, Karen smiled up at him. “I’m on birth control. Please.”

He let out a long breath. She was trusting him. He trusted her. If he wasn’t hers before, there was no going back from this.

“You’re sure?”

She blinked up at him. “Yes. You’re it for me.” She kissed him again, hard enough to burn away any of the doubts still roiling around in his head.

He reached between them and slid inside. She was so wet, so tight, so ready, Frank could hardly breathe at the sensation of being inside her. Karen’s legs wrapped around him and pulled him deeper. He stayed there, still, for a long moment. It was hard to believe he wasn’t going to wake up from this dream.

But it was real. She was here. He was here. They were together.

He started to move, Karen’s hips circling up to meet his at every thrust. He couldn’t stop kissing her, swallowing the breathy cries that were erupting out of her every time their bodies met.

He wasn’t sure how long he could keep this up before he lost control, but Karen wasn’t ready for it to be over. She nudged him over and let him pull her up the bed, still inside her.

Watching Karen Page ride him, breasts bouncing and hair wild, was more than he could take. She ground her hips into his, and he felt her shaking with another orgasm as she collapsed on top of him. Frank gathered her in his arms and sat up, bouncing her on his lap as he thrust into her over and over again.

“Frank,” she cried, voice muffled in his shoulder as her last orgasm rolled into another. She clutched at him, nails dragging over his skin hard enough to hurt, and he followed her over the edge as her teeth sank into his skin. He came with a grunt, stroking her hair where it lay sweaty and tangled over her shoulders.

When he could breathe again, he lifted her off him and laid her gently on the bed while he got up to clean himself up a little.

He stood over the sink, staring at his face in the mirror. He was still bruised, beat up from his last nighttime excursion, but Karen knew that. She knew it and she still wanted him. She knew it and she still loved him.

Because that’s what this was. After fighting it for so long, he could finally admit it. He loved her. She loved him. This was it.

He went back to bed and found her already asleep, curled under the blankets. He slid in beside her, and she snuggled back against him. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her as close as he could.

He hadn’t slept so well in years.

* * *

Karen woke in the morning, not sure if she had dreamed the whole thing. Confronting Frank, telling him how she felt, finally knowing how he felt. And the sex. She had imagined sex with Frank. Dreamed about it. Especially on those bad nights when she felt so lonely, she wasn’t sure she’d ever recover.

But the real thing was so much more. He was gentle with her, but rough enough to make her feel it. He gave her exactly what she needed.

When she rolled over, she felt the soreness in her thighs and knew she hadn’t imagined it. But the bed beside her was cold.

She opened her eyes and looked around. Frank’s boots were still on the floor. His clothes were folded on the bed. She could hear the shower running.

She smiled. She padded down the hallway, naked, and opened the unlocked door to the bathroom. She pushed open the shower curtain and Frank looked up. He grinned and held out a hand to help her in.

He was in her space before she was even in the tub, crowding her against the wall, his skin warm and wet against hers. He kissed her, and she melted under his touch. His tongue was hot and demanding, pushing into her mouth and claiming her. He didn’t need to. She was already his. She had made that decision a long time ago. She had just been waiting for him to catch up.

He was caught up now. He lifted her in his arms, her back slipping against the tile, and she groaned when he slid inside her again. It was like coming home.

She kissed and bit at his neck, trying not to scream the pleasure she felt when his hand snaked down between them to press at her clit. He thrusted into her as hard as he could, and Karen couldn’t get enough.

“Fuck me, Frank. Fuck me,” she hissed into his ear. He growled and shifted her in his arms, snapping his hips into hers. Karen’s head fell back against the wall and she felt her muscles tensing as he kept up the punishing pace.

“Come for me, baby. Come for me.” All it took was those mumbled words against her skin and she came undone. She came with a cry of Frank’s name and he tumbled after her, mouth hot against her shoulder as he shuddered to his own climax.

He set her down gently, gathering her hair in one hand as he pressed gentle kisses against her neck. He guided her under the water and his fingers combed through her hair, working shampoo and conditioner through the strands. Karen squeezed body wash into her hands and lathered it over his body. They moved together, learning each other’s bodies slowly, softly. They had time now.

When they were both clean, skin pink from the warm water, Karen turned off the water.

“I’ll make breakfast,” Frank said, wrapping a towel around his hips.

Karen grinned. “I don’t have any food in the fridge.” She had fallen into a bad habit of ordering food every night when she got home from work. Cooking for one was just too depressing, and she didn’t have many people to invite over.

“Then I’ll be back soon.” He kissed her forehead and Karen heard him dress and head for the door. It closed behind him and she brushed out the tangles in her hair.

Karen glanced at the clock and realized she was going to be late for work. She dashed off a text to Foggy and Matt and sank down on the couch, laptop open. She could at least get caught up on emails while she waited for Frank.

Her phone rang not two minutes later. She had a feeling it would. She wasn’t often late, and she knew Foggy was worried about her, after she finally told him what had happened last time Frank surfaced. He didn’t need to worry now, but he couldn’t know that. She could hardly believe it herself.

“Hi, Foggy.”

“Are you sick? Hurt?” He sounded frantic. She wondered if Matt was with him, listening in.

“No. I’m fine. Just woke up late.”

“You? Miss ‘I don’t need an alarm’? You woke up late?”

“Yes, Foggy. It happens.”

She could almost imagine his face, squinting at her. “Not to you. So, spill.”

Karen blushed. She was glad he couldn’t actually see her. “I’ll tell you all about it later. I’m going to answer some emails and then I’ll be in. Promise.”

“Okay, but we’re going out for a drink tonight. No more of this mystery bullshit, Karen.”

“Bye, Foggy.”

She was laughing as she hung up the phone. She heard Frank’s heavy footsteps behind her and looked up to see him carrying two cups of coffee and a brown paper bag.

“Wasn’t sure what you liked,” he mumbled. Karen put her phone down on the table and Frank glanced at it.

“It was Foggy. He was worried I was sick or something, when I didn’t show up to work.”

Frank sat down beside her, a little stiff. “Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize to me. Not for that.” Karen kissed his cheek and he softened a little. She took the bag from him and peeked inside. “Bagels?”

“Everything and cinnamon raisin. Take your pick.”

Karen pulled out the everything bagel and leaned over to kiss him again. “Thank you.”

He ducked his head, blushing a little. “Didn’t mean to make you late for work.”

She paused, before she took her first bite. “It was worth it.” He shook his head. “I’m serious. I might have to be late every day and they’ll just have to deal with it.

His blush deepened. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” She nudged his shoulder. “You’re it, remember?”

“You are too.” He kissed her again and Karen wasn’t sure she was ever going to make it to work after all. But then Frank pulled away, resting his forehead against hers. “You are too.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic was a challenge for sure. There are four versions of it that are never going to see the light of day, but this one ended up somewhere in the vicinity of what I wanted for them. I may do one more chapter, with Karen talking to Foggy and then Frank and Karen actually talking about all the things they need to talk about, but I'm not sure yet.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you liked it! Kudos and comments are always appreciated! <3


End file.
